The News
by P.Rose205
Summary: Sokka reacts when Zuko makes a confession. The Gaang's all here. Another companion piece to The Last.


**Another companion piece to The Last. So here's what happened when Zuko confessed to Sokka. It just popped into my head as I was reading a story. Thanks Jordan for the inspiration.**

"You son-of -a-bitch! I'll kill you!" Sokka screamed as he flailed in Aang's arms. "I'll rip your fuckin' head off!"

"Calm down, Sokka." Aang said. It was taking all the young man's strength to hold the young warrior back. If he didn't get help soon, he'd have to shackle him to the floor.

Zuko stood across the room rubbing his right eye. Sokka had landed a rather hard punch before Aang had pulled him away. "I'm sorry Sokka. We didn't mean for this to happen. It just…did."

"You lying bastard!" the watertribesman growled as he tried to wrench himself from the Avatar's grip.

"I'm telling you the truth." the Fire Lord said still cupping his eye. As he did, he couldn't help but think about a conversation a few says earlier.

_**One week ago**_

Zuko eased into Suki's room where she was packing for their trip to Ba Sing Se. Iroh was throwing an engagement party for Aang and Katara and this would be the first time in a long time that they all would be together.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come in?" Suki said as she placed the shirt she'd been folding into her suitcase.

Zuko chuckled. "Do you think you have enough? We won't be gone that long."

"We'll be gone a little over a week. You never know what you might need." she looked back, smiled and him and sang "And I got a few things for Katara."

He crossed the room and looked into the case. Zuko laid a finger on the stack of blue, white, orange and yellow. "Is this what you're taking to her?" Suki nodded with a smile. He looked part of the way through the pile of silk and lace. "This looks like it's more for Aang than Katara."

She laughed and bumped him with her hip "I guess you can look at it like that. But every girl should have at least a few nice underthings."

The young Fire Lord smiled and leaned in closer "Do you have things like this?"

The Kyoshi Warrior smiled at him "I do."

"Oh really?" he hummed as he pulled her to him. She giggled as he lowered his head to kiss her.

After a half minute they heard a hand clap twice and Lady Ursa's voice "Okay you two, enough of that." she said with a smile, "The balloon is ready to go. You'll have to do that on your own time."

Suki buried her face into Zuko's robes in shame as the blushing young man turned his head to the door. He let out a mortified, "Mother, really."

Lady Ursa giggled and went on her way.

Suki lifted her head back to Zuko "This week is going to be hard. I don't know if I can keep my distance from you all that time."

"I know." he said giving her a quick squeeze. "But after the party we'll tell them and everything will be out in the open."

"I know. This little secret thing has been fun though."

"It has, but it's been almost a year. We can't go on like this. I want to be with you. I don't want to hide us anymore."

"I don't either." she said turning to close her bag, "I'm just worried about how Sokka's going to react. It's been two years since we broke up and he still won't even speak to me."

Zuko held his head down, "He won't admit it, but I think he still loves you."

It was Suki's turn to look down. She felt a tear form in her eye. "That's what Katara says." she looked to Zuko, "I don't want to hurt him more than I already have."

Zuko wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb "I don't want to hurt him either, but we have to stop this hiding." he pulled back into his arms and looked into her eyes "I love you Suki. I want us to be together for a very long time."

She looked into his eyes with hers stretched, "You really mean that?"

He gave her a small smile. "Every word of it."

* * *

Toph came in when she felt the commotion. She had been with Katara and Suki touring the house. She didn't alert the other girls to what she felt, instead she said she was going outside.

She ran into the room and helped Aang get Sokka pinned into an earth chair she'd pulled from the wall. As they shackled him to the chair Sokka still raged and struggled to get loose.

"That's why!" Sokka growled "That's why she left me! For you! I loved you like a brother and you were fucking my girlfriend the whole time!? You slimy bitch!"

"Sokka, it's nothing like that." Zuko protested, "We haven't even been together a year. We haven't-"

"Stop lying to me!" Sokka yelled, cutting him off.

"He's telling the truth." Toph said quietly.

"Don't you take up for him!" he snapped at the little earth bender.

"I'm not, Meat Head! He's telling you the truth!"

_**The day before**_

"Hey Toph," Sokka said as he walked up to his friend "Do you know where Aang and Katara went?"

"No Snoozles. I have not been keeping tabs on your baby sister. They're engaged now. Give them a break."

Sokka huffed. "Please Toph, just tell me where they went."

She didn't want to say it, but she did. "They're not here, not even on the block. From what I can tell they've been gone well over an hour."

Sokka's face dropped. "And you didn't tell me? That kid could be doing Tui knows what to my sister."

"Ugh. So what Sokka? They're getting married. What difference does it make?"

"What difference does it make!?"

Toph started walking away from Sokka, but he followed her, telling her all the ways it made a difference. She went straight to Suki knowing that he would not stay where the Kyoshi Warrior was. "Hi Suki." Toph said happily as Sokka gave them both a nasty look and went in the other direction.

"Hey Toph. This is a great party huh?"

"Yeah it is." Toph said, sipping on her punch.

"I guess Sokka was bothering you to find out where the guests of honor disappeared to." Suki laughed.

"Yep." Toph answered, "Okay, enough small talk. How long have you and Sparky been getting it on?"

Suki gasped and grabbed Toph's hand, pulling her outside "Did Zuko tell you? He said we'd tell everyone tomorrow."

Toph laughed "He didn't tell me anything, you just did."

Suki blushed, "What gave us away?"

"You forget who you're talking to. You two's vibrations change every time you glance at each other. You didn't answer my question. How long have you two been getting it on?"

"Toph, we're not having sex, if that's what you're asking."

"Not yet." Toph smirked

"No, not yet." Suki got excited at being able to tell someone, "He told me he loved me before we left though."

"Way to go Sparky." Toph smirked.

"Yeah." Suki said dreamily, then she popped back to reality "Toph, I'm worried about how Sokka will react when we tell everyone."

"Yes, that could be a problem." the younger woman said, "He's sworn off love you know."

"Yeah, I heard. You have to help keep Sokka calm when we tell everyone."

"I'll do my best."

* * *

Suki smirked at Katara as the watched Toph walk away. "Okay, Toph didn't say you were lying when you said Aang gave you a tattoo, so you must have one, but more than that happened, didn't it?"

Katara placed her blushing face into her hands, "Yes, it did."

Suki squealed, "I knew it! You two held out way longer than I thought you would. I don't think I could-"

Suki stopped when she heard _you slimy bitch!_ in the distance. Katara heard it too, "Was that Sokka?"

Suki started easing down the hall "He couldn't have, not already."

_Stop lying to me._ echoed down the hall.

Katara took off running, "That's definitely Sokka."

The girl from Kyoshi and the water bender made it to the living room just as Toph said "He's telling you the truth."

Katara saw her brother thrashing around like a trapped animal. She ran over to him "Sokka, what's wrong?" she looked at Aang, "Why did you do this to him?"

"Katara, we had to." Aang answered in a mournful tone.

Katara felt Sokka calm down under her hand. He wasn't bucking in the chair anymore. He was glaring hard at the door, where Suki was standing. Sokka snarled "You."

Suki had tears streaming down her face. "Sokka, I'm sorry. We didn't want it to be like this."

Katara knelt in front of her brother and put her hands on either side of his face "Sokka? Look at me Sokka. Tell me what's going on."

But her brother didn't look at her. Instead his eyes stayed on Suki. Katara looked back just in time to see her cross the room and go to Zuko whose hand was still over his eye. She watched as Suki pulled Zuko's hand from his face and gently touched his eye that had already swollen shut. Her mouth gaped open as Zuko wiped the tears from Suki's face. "Wh-what's going on here?"

Zuko flinched when Suki touch his bruised eye "We were supposed to tell everyone together." she said.

"I know." he answered "I was hoping to save you from going through this. I knew he'd be upset, but I didn't know it would be like this."

Katara stood up "You two are…together?"

Zuko put his arm around Suki "Yes. I love her Katara."

Katara looked at her brother as he tried to pull away from the chair again. Then, she looked at her fiancé. "Let him go." she said quietly.

"But Katara, he tried to-"

"I don't give a damn Aang! I said let my brother go!"

Aang reluctantly opened the stone cuffs from around Sokka's ankles and wrist and he immediately jumped up. Katara stood in front of him and pressed her hand gently in the center of his chest "Sokka." she moved her hand to his face "Big brother." he finally looked at her "Let's go outside." She wrapped her left arm around his right one and placed her hand on his bicep as she led him out the door.

The young woman gently patted her brother's arm as they walked out to the garden. She didn't say anything, just patted his arm until his breathing slowed. Katara turned to face him and watched his face go from gnarled and angry to soft and hurt. She wrapped her arms around him and Sokka silently cried into his sister's shoulder. Finally she spoke to him. "Sokka, it's all going to be okay." she said softly.

"He was my brother," Sokka said "He was my brother and he betrayed me like that. He knew how much I loved her, and they just…I feel so stupid."

Neither of them knew that Toph had followed them, "Sokka, they both say they've only been together ten months." she said lightly "They're both telling the truth."

Katara looked at Toph and said quietly "Okay Toph, but not now."

Toph didn't want to leave him like that. She felt him huddled in his sister's arms, shuddering. She could tell he was crying. Her heart broke knowing he was like that. She turned and went back into the house.

"Katara, why is she lying for them? Why is she sticking up for them?" he asked his sister.

"Sokka, I don't think Toph would do that."

The warrior stepped away quickly "You too? You're going to choose them over your own blood?"

"No Sokka. I'm just saying Toph wouldn't lie for anyone."

She reached out for his hand but he snatched away. He shook his head and stormed off through the side yard and down the street. Katara stared to follow him, but she knew he would come back when he calmed sown. She turned and went back into the house where Aang was waiting in the hall for her. He opened his arms and she fell into them.

"I'm sorry Sweetie." he said "We had to restrain him."

"I know." she said "I know how he is when he's angry. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's okay. I understand."

"I just don't believe all this happened. I mean Zuko and Suki. It seems crazy."

"It is," Aang said "but they love each other. You should see them together. It's kind of amazing."

When Aang and Katara came back to the living room, Suki was leaning against Zuko holding a cold towel to his black eye. Zuko gently ran his hand up and down her back as she cooed sweet words to him. If her brother wasn't so hurt by it, Katara would've commented on how sweet the whole situation was. She cleared her throat to announce herself.

Suki and Zuko both stood. "Is Sokka okay?" Suki asked.

"He left." Katara said sadly. "He'll come back when he cools off."

"I'm sorry, Katara." Zuko said "I should've waited for the two of us to tell everyone together like we planned. I knew he would be upset, but I didn't imagine he would go off like that."

She shrugged "Hey, well, you know Sokka." It was quiet for a second, "Zuko, let me fix that eye for you." She went to the kitchen to get some water the came back to heal his swollen eye. "Sokka got a pretty good hit in. It'll still be a little sore and bruised for a day or so, but at least it won't be swollen shut."

"Yeah. He got me pretty good. I didn't know he had that in him." he smirked a little "Didn't know he had gotten that fast either."

Katara stepped back "Yeah, well the first weapon we learned to use was our fist." then she said awkwardly. "Sooo, you've been together ten months, you're in love and you've been keeping it from everyone."

"That's about it." Suki said "Lady Ursa and a few people at the palace know though. We wanted to see where things were going first."

"And where are things going?" Toph asked.

Zuko smiled and look at his love. "Suki's going to be Fire Lady one day."

They all looked at Zuko, even Toph turned her blind eyes to him. The Fire Lord didn't usually wear his heart on his sleeve. Suki looked at him with shimmering eyes "Zuko, do you really mean that?"

"I mean it with everything that I am."

Suki jumped into Zuko's arms as their friends looked on. In their hearts they were happy for the couple, but in their minds they knew that Sokka was somewhere in the city hurting.

* * *

Three days later, Sokka strolled back into the house and sat down to breakfast as if nothing had happened. Toph cocked her head an Aang looked at him with an eyebrow raised as he piled food on his plate. Katara turned her head and squinted at her brother "Where the hell have you been?!" she demanded.

"I've been out."

"Well I know that! I was worried. We looked all over this city for you!"

"I was fine Katara. I stayed with a friend."

"Friend?" she snapped. "What friend did you find to spend three days with?!"

He smirked "Let's just say it's a female friend."

"Sokka."

"Look sis," he said standing up with his plate and his cup in his hands "I was upset when I left and now I feel better, so let's leave it at that." He turned and went to his room.


End file.
